Hanna Lorica – Page 2

February 22, 2021March 12, 2021

Professor Max Fratoni awarded the Xenel Distinguished Professorship

February 19, 2021

Professor Max Fratoni was awarded the Xenel Distinguished Professorship to honor his tireless effort for science, education, and service. He joins 3 other distinguished and chaired faculties in the department, and will hold the appointment for 5 years. This is an indication of the excellence we embody in the Department of Nuclear Engineering, and of the contributions we make to UC Berkeley.

Congratulations Professor Fratoni!

February 15, 2021March 1, 2021

UCBNE Researchers and the search for Dark Matter

February 12, 2021

UCBNE Professor Karl van Bibber and his group of researchers were featured on campus news for their recent publication in Nature introducing a new experiment to harness the "weirdness of quantum mechanics to accelerate the search for the axion, one of two leading hypothetical subatomic particles that may make up the bulk of dark matter in the universe."

This new technique, called quantum squeezing, allowed the HAYSTAC detector to search for axions at twice the speed as before. “The HAYSTAC detector was already essentially at the quantum limit, and now we’ve actually found a way of circumventing the quantum limit entirely,” said co-author Karl van Bibber, executive associate dean at Berkeley’s College of Engineering and one of the senior researchers on the HAYSTAC project. “Several theoretical works are now predicting that the axion mass is right in the frequency range where HAYSTAC is ready to go next. And we’ve got the cavities and amplifiers all lined up and ready to search.”

Great work and congratulations to the research team, Very exciting developments!

February 5, 2021February 9, 2021

Berkeley Team take first-ever measurements of Einsteinium

February 5th, 2021

Leticia Arnedo -Sanchez (from left), Katherine Shield, Korey Carter, Jennifer Wacker at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory on Tuesday, November 17, 2020 in Berkeley, Calif. 11/17/20

Researchers in Rebecca Abergel's lab obtained a small sample of einsteinium, a highly radioactive and difficult-to-obtain element, and made the first ever measurement of its bond distance. The study was published in Nature.

“Structural and Spectroscopic Characterization of an Einsteinium Complex,” has been published in Nature; A study co-led by Berkeley Lab scientist and UC Berkeley Nuclear Engineering (UCBNE) Assistant Professor Rebecca Abergel, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LLNL) scientist Stosh Kozimor, and a team of scientists: study co-authors Korey Carter, Katherine Shield (current UCBNE Grad student), Kurt Smith, Leticia Arnedo-Sanchez, Tracy Mattox, Liane Moreau, and Corwin Booth of Berkeley Lab; Zachary Jones and Stosh Kozimor of Los Alamos National Laboratory; and Jennifer Wacker and Karah Knope of Georgetown University—several of whom are graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

The research was supported by the DOE Office of Science. Luminescence spectroscopy experiments were conducted at the Molecular Foundry at Berkeley Lab, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. With experimental facilities not available in 1952, when Einsteinium was discovered, the team measured the first-ever Einsteinium bond distance and with less than 250 nanograms of the element!

“There’s not much known about einsteinium,” said Abergel, who leads Berkeley Lab’s Heavy Element Chemistry group. “It’s a remarkable achievement that we were able to work with this small amount of material and do inorganic chemistry. It’s significant because the more we understand about its chemical behavior, the more we can apply this understanding for the development of new materials or new technologies, not necessarily just with einsteinium, but with the rest of the actinides too. And we can establish trends in the periodic table.”

Congratulations Professor Abergel and Kathy Shield! —from your UCBNE family.

More News coverage:

Nature

Chemistry world

January 27, 2021March 1, 2021

The Nuclear Science and Security Consortium wins 5-year NNSA Grant for the third time

January 27, 2021

Bay Area Neutron Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory on 08/22/2017 in Berkeley, Calif.

The Berkeley-based center, the NSSC, has won the National Nuclear Security Administration's (NSSA) 5-year, $25 million grant for the third time in a row. The NNSA first awarded the NSSC with a $25 million grant in 2011, then in 2016, and now for Sept. 2021. UC Berkeley's Nuclear Engineering Department Chair, Professor Peter Hosemann, highlights this "is particularly notable given that most centers only receive it once or twice."

There is a recompetition for the grant every 5 years, as detailed by UCB Nuclear Engineering professor and NSSC program director, Jasmina Vujic: “We have to recompete — this is not renewal — every single time, meaning we have to write an entirely new proposal, have an entirely new team, and compete on a national level against anybody else."

The NSSC has supported over 550 undergraduates, graduates, postdoctoral students, faculty and specialists throughout its history. Focusing most of its funding to student support. “The consortium provides a strong draw for students into nuclear security and nonproliferation research areas,” said NSSC executive director and UCB researcher Bethany Goldblum in an email. “These scholars will go on to be leaders in nuclear nonproliferation, nuclear arms control, nuclear incident response, nuclear energy, and other nuclear-related fields.”

We congratulate Professor Vujic, Dr. Goldblum, and those that contributed to the successful proposal. To another successful and fruitful 5 years ahead!

Kairos Power’s Hermes, one of the Risk Reduction Projects awarded by DOE’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program

Kairos Power's Hermes, one of the Risk Reduction Projects awarded by DOE's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program

December 16th, 2020

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the projects to be funded by its Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) award for Risk Reduction funding. Kairos Power LLC (Alameda, CA) was selected and will be awarded $629 million over seven years (DOE share is $303 million) and will receive $30 million in initial funding for FY20.

A recognition for the Hermes Reduced-Scale Test Reactor and Kairos's progress in developing its commercial-scale KP-FHR (Kairos Power Fluoride Salt-Cooled High Temperature Reactor): "a novel advanced nuclear reactor technology that leverages TRI-structural ISOtropic particle fuel (TRISO) fuel in pebble form combined with a low-pressure fluoride salt coolant."

DOE's announcement

December 13, 2020December 13, 2020

Berkeley Material Scientists designs recharge able N95 mask

Berkeley Material Scientists designs rechargeable N95 mask

December 9th, 2020

The COVID19 Pandemic has exposed the limits of even the most efficient of masks used by first responders. N95 masks, considered the "gold standard" for anti-viral protection, is only recommended to be worn once and require a tight fit around the mouth and nose. "Urban and Hosemann say that their joint research effort aims to address such problems with long-term filter efficiency by designing and fabricating a reusable silicone N95 mask with a rechargeable, wire-mesh active filter."

“This mesh filter can be recharged, and thus the mask itself can be reusable, a key advantage,” he said. “The ultimate vision is to make a mask with a filter battery cartridge that you could plug in and recharge overnight, like a cell phone.”

The scientists are also developing a 3D-printable, silicone-cast mold for the body of the mask–offering a solution to shortages and fit problems. "In the event of a PPE shortage, a 3D-printable mold would allow anyone – from the DIY hobbyist to supply clerks at a school or hospital – to make silicone N95 masks on demand and with short lead times," Hosemann said.

“The combination of 3D printing and casting of simple parts is a powerful way to produce unavailable PPE rapidly if the raw material is available,” he added.

The mold and rechargeable filters are in the early stages of research and development but the team says they are making quick progess.

Read more on the Berkeley Lab's news Release: https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2020/12/09/anti-covid-mask-breaks-mold/

December 13, 2020

Kairos Power Selects Location for Fluoride Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Test Reactor

December 12th, 2020

Kairos Power has announced the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee will be the location for their Fluoride Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Test Reactor, pending further discussion with state and local officials.

Find their official press release on their website: https://kairospower.com/external_updates/kairos-power-selects-east-tennessee-technology-park-site-for-fluoride-salt-cooled-high-temperature-test-reactor/

Kairos Power was co-founded by Professor Per Peterson, Michael Laufer and Edward Blandford

December 12, 2020December 12, 2020

Grey Batie wows at the 2020 Diversity & Inclusion Research Conference (DIRC20)

Grey Batie wows at the 2020 Diversity & Inclusion Research Conference

November 13th, 2020

The third annual Diversity & Inclusion Research Conference took place November 12-13, 2020 as a virtual event, reaching more than 500 attendees across six continents. DIRC20 featured nearly 50 panelists and speakers, which ranged from a University President to the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer of a multinational corporation.

Grey was invited to join a panel titled "Allyship and Intersectionality: Understanding the roles of power, privilege and marginalization in DEI work.” Grey was joined on this panel by Heather Metcalf, Chief Research Officer of the Association for Women in Science; Dr. Tsedale Melaku, author of the book "You Don't Look Like a Lawyer: Black Women and Systemic Gendered Racism”; and Jennifer Brown, author of multiple books and one of the best-known Diversity & Inclusion Practitioners in this country.

Paolo Gaudiano, one of the conference's organizers praised Grey for their contribution, “Grey was absolutely fantastic in their role. It is rare to find such an incredible combination of intellect, charisma, self-awareness and humility...In these times of heightened awareness about issues of racial inequality, and especially given that today marks the beginning of Transgender Awareness Week, I hope you are aware of the amazing individual that you have among your doctoral students, and that you will join me and my colleagues in celebrating Grey's impressive achievements.”

"Grey has been wonderful to mentor and to work with over the last few years. Grey has been and I'm sure they will continue to be an outstanding ambassador for diversity and inclusion. In addition to engaging in the important issues of equity, diversity, and racial justice, Grey has been themself an exemplary mentor for other students while tackling outstanding challenges in the effective and safe operation of the next generation of nuclear power plants in their research," says Kai Vetter, their research advisor.

To read more about DIRC20 and Grey Batie: https://www.dirc.info/

We are so proud of you, Grey!

December 3, 2019December 5, 2019

Rebecca Abergel elected as AAAS Fellow

December 3, 2019

Rebecca Abergel of Berkeley Lab's Chemical Sciences Division is studying how an anti-radiation-poisoning pill she developed in 2014 could help to protect people from the potential toxicity in the long-term retention of gadolinium, an ingredient in MRI contrast agents. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory on Wednesday, September 4, 2019 in Berkeley, Calif. 09/04/19

Our very own Rebecca Abergel has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), an lifetime distinction bestowed upon the society’s members by their peers.

4 other UC Berkeley faculty members have been awarded and featured in this week's Berkeley News:

"The five are among 443 members awarded the honor because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. Founded in 1848, the AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of Science and five other journals."

The article highlighted her work and leadership within the department and at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

See the News article here.

Professor Abergel will receive official certificates and rosette pins in gold and blue, colors symbolizing science and engineering, in a ceremony on Feb. 15, 2020, during the AAAS Annual Meeting in Seattle.

See the AAAS announcement here.